Device For Transforming On Demand A City Shoe Into A Sports Shoe And Shoes Adapted To Said Device

ABSTRACT

Two plates ( 2, 3)  are arranged under a forefoot and a heel and comprisies longitudinal edges ( 2   a,    2   b,    3   a,    3   b ) inclined with respect to the transversal axis of a sole and the lateral edges ( 2   c,    2   d:    3   c,    3   d ) which are not parallel and have different lengths. Winglets bonded to the lateral edges are fixed to the sides ( 7, 8 ) of the sole by pins or claws. Said invention can be used for transforming a city shoe in to a golf shoe.

The invention concerns a device to convert an ordinary shoe into a sports shoe when so required, and the shoes fitted with this device.

In a particular application envisaged, the shoe is convertible in order to be suitable for the practice of a sport, such as golf or walking on uneven ground, and also to allow one to walk normally on an ordinary surface such as even ground, a floor or a floor covering, or to move in a gymnasium or a dressing room or a reception area, for example, before or after taking part in the sport.

Numerous devices have been proposed, composed of one or two strips equipped with spikes and designed to be attached under the sole and held in position by various means.

U.S. Pat. No. 1,552,512 describes a device composed of a single strip to be applied under the heel, and which has a front wing and a rear wing which fit around and press against the front edge and the rear edge of the heel respectively.

U.S. Pat. No. 2,118,778 describes a device composed of a narrow, u-shaped strip which is placed under the heel and is fixed to it by screws which pass through the wings of the strip and which penetrate into the underside of the heel.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,092,306 describes a device composed of two strips which are attached under the sole, at the front and rear ends of the latter respectively, using lateral tabs which wrap against the sides and the front or against the rear of the sole respectively, so as to clip onto a top edge of the sole.

Publication DE 867 968 describes a device composed of a single U-shaped strip which is applied in the middle zone of the sole between the sole and the heel, and whose wings are equipped with passages for retaining straps.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,713,233 describes a device composed of a single flexible elastic strip attached by an extension to the underside of the heel of the shoe, with this strip being designed to occupy a working position in which the strip is located under the extension, across the shoe, or a retracted position in which the strip is located behind the shoe with the spikes hidden between the shoe and the strip. In this solution, the extension is attached, by glueing or during manufacture, to the underside of the heel, and the strip is equipped with wings designed to be folded against the sides of the shoe and to be attached to these sides by hollow buttons passing in holes in the wings, and attached to screws passing through perforations in the sides of the shoe.

More recently (publication FR 2 831 030), a device has been proposed that is composed of two strips designed to be placed respectively under the forefoot and under the heel, each strip being at some distance from the corresponding end of the sole, thus presenting two longitudinal edges which are positioned across the sole and two lateral edges from which emerge two lateral winglets which fold up against the vertical sides of the sole, where these winglets and the vertical sides of the sole include resources that fit together for the detachable fixing of the strip to the shoe. In the invention described in this publication, the strips are inserted into cut-outs formed in the bottom surface of the sole in order to prevent movement of the strips while walking.

These cut-outs can create problems of differential wear, can shorten the life of the sole, and can increase the production cost of the shoe.

This present invention has as its particular subject a device that is effective, easy to fit and to remove, and which contributes to creating a good-looking shoe without the disadvantages of the known devices.

This is achieved, according to the invention, with a device composed of two strips 2, 3; 20, 30 designed to be placed under the forefoot and under the heel respectively, each strip being at some distance from the corresponding end of the sole, presenting two longitudinal edges 2 a, 2 b; 20 a, 20 b; 3 a, 3 b; 30 a, 30 b which are positioned across the sole, and two lateral edges 2 c, 2 d; 3 c, 3 d; 20 c, 20 d; 30 c, 30 d fitted with lateral winglets 8, 9; 80, 90 which fold up against the vertical sides of the sole, where these winglets and the vertical sides of the sole include resources that fit together for the detachable fixing of the strip to the shoe, characterised in that the strips 2, 3; 20, 30 are surface-mounted on the underside of the shoe, in that the two lateral edges of a given strip are not parallel and are of different widths, and in that the winglet 9, 90 adjoining the lateral edge of greater width folds up against the outward-facing side of the shoe, and is equipped with two studs 14; 140 to fit into corresponding holes in the sole, while the winglet 8, 80 adjoining the lateral edge of lesser width folds up against the inward-facing side of the shoe, and is equipped with a resource for fixing to the shoe so that it is detachable manually.

In particular implementations:

-   -   the said detachable fixing resource is a stud to fit into a         corresponding hole in the sole;     -   the said detachable fixing resource is a claw formed at the         upper end of the winglet, to latch onto the side or the top of         the sole;     -   the studs include manual gripping resources which facilitate         their extraction from the holes in the sole;     -   the winglets with the studs and the claws are manufactured         together with the strips;     -   the shoe includes recesses in or above the sole to accommodate         the claws;     -   the sole includes flats to accommodate the winglets;     -   the holes formed in the sole are also designed to serve as         ventilation for the shoe;     -   hollow dowels are driven into the said holes in the sole, and         the said studs are hollow pins carried by the winglets and         designed to be inserted into the said dowels and extracted when         required;     -   these pins, or some of these pins, include a tubular body which         passes through a perforation in the winglet and which is pressed         into the dowel, and a head that is accessible outside the         winglet and which is used to extract the pin from the dowel.

The following are some non-limiting examples of shoes in accordance with the invention, with reference to the figures in the attached drawings, in which

FIG. 1 is a view in perspective of a shoe for the right foot seen from the left side, with two strips according to the invention in place, under the forefoot and under the heel respectively;

FIG. 2 is a view in perspective similar to that of FIG. 1 after removal of the strips;

FIG. 3 is a view in perspective of the shoe for the right foot of FIG. 1 fitted with the strips, and seen from the left side;

FIG. 4 is a view in perspective of the strip located under the forefoot;

FIG. 5 is a vertical cross-section of the shoe, in the region of the strip located under the forefoot and during the fitting of the strip, seen from the front of the shoe;

FIG. 6 is a section similar to that of FIG. 4, when fitting has been completed;

FIG. 7 shows an example of a dowel;

FIG. 8 is a view similar to that of FIG. 5 in the case of a winglet variant;

FIG. 9 shows an example of a fixing pin;

FIG. 10 shows another example of a dowel;

FIG. 11 is a magnified view of a resource for the attachment of a winglet;

FIG. 12 is a top view of the sole of a shoe for the left foot fitted with strips according to the invention;

FIG. 13 shows a variant of the strips of a device according to the invention;

FIG. 14 schematically shows one phase of the fitting of the device of FIG. 13 to a flat shoe for the left foot;

FIG. 15 schematically shows a flat shoe for the right foot fitted with a device according to FIG. 13;

FIG. 16 shows two views in perspective of a bootee for the right foot PD fitted with a device according to the invention, with the shoe being viewed from the top and the side;

FIG. 17 shows the same shoe as in FIG. 16, but viewed from below and from the right;

FIG. 18 shows the same shoe as in FIGS. 16 and 17, in the process of being fitted out, and

FIG. 19 is a view in perspective of the two strips of the shoes of FIGS. 17 and 18.

The ordinary shoe for the right foot PD shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 is equipped with two spike-bearing strips 2, 3 under the forefoot 4 and under the heel 5 respectively, surface-mounted on the underside of the sole S in FIG. 12, at some distance from the ends of the sole.

The strip 2 located under the forefoot (FIG. 4) has two longitudinal rectilinear edges 2 a, 2 b that form an acute angle with each other.

Preferably these two edges form an angle of 20° to 40°.

The strip has two lateral edges 2 c, 2 d which are fitted with winglets 8, 9 respectively, and which are adjacent to these edges and fold up onto the sides 6, 7 of the sole.

The two lateral edges 8, 9 are of unequal width and are not parallel. As a result, the strip has the shape of an irregular quadrilateral whose opposite sides are neither in parallel nor have the same length (FIG. 12). This shape contributes to the retention in position of the strip in spite of the any frontal impacts suffered.

The small winglet 8, located against the left side of the shoe for the right foot 6, is equipped with a hole 10 to allow a pin 11 carried by an extension 12, fixed to the winglet by a hinge 13, to pass through this hole when the extension is folded back onto the winglet (FIGS. 4 to 6). This pin 11 is intended to enter into a dowel 14 that is driven obliquely into the left side 6 of the sole. The pin can be solid or hollow.

In a variant (FIG. 8), the small winglet 8 carries the pin directly 11, which is then equipped with a head 11 b that allows its extraction by hand or with a tool.

The large winglet 9 carries two fixed studs 15, 16 that are intended to enter into corresponding hollow dowels 17, 18 driven into holes in the right side 7 of the sole (FIG. 11).

Preferably, the small winglet 8 is perpendicular to the strip while the large winglet 9 is perpendicular or slanting outwards in relation to the strip (FIGS. 3 and 4). The same comments apply to the strip 3 located under the heel.

Preferably, the sides of the sole against which the winglets of the strip are pressed have flats or recesses which ensure a good contact of the winglets with these sides. In FIG. 12, dashed lines (shown as M) show the position of the flats 6 a, 7 a for the winglets 8, 9 of the strip 2 applied under the forefoot of the shoe for the left foot.

The strips are designed so that the small winglets are facing inwards, that is toward the space between the shoes, so that the user is easily able to start the removal of a strip by resting the corresponding foot on the other knee and then grasping the small winglet in order to extract, from the sole, the fixing pin that carries this extension or, if the winglet has a removable pin, by pulling on the head of this pin to extract the latter from the sole and so detach the winglet from the sole, after which he can lift the strip and extract, from the sole, the studs which were holding the large winglet. These operations can be facilitated if the strip and its winglets have a certain ability to deform.

FIG. 11 is a magnified view of a sole at the location of a ventilation hole 20 of the shoe, which passes obliquely through the sole S and which is fitted with a hollow dowel 17 designed to receive a hollow pin 15 for attaching the winglet 9 of the strip. This is seen only by its head 15 a, visible outside the winglet. The strip and the winglets are preferably made of a thin metal with a thickness of no more than a few millimetres. It is equipped with spikes, striations, etc, depending on the sport to be played. The user can thus have a set of strips allowing the playing of different sports or suitable for a variety of surfaces.

In the previous implementations, the longitudinal edges of the strips are rectilinear. In a variant, these edges can be curvilinear. In fact, the edges are all shaped to facilitate the retention of the strip and its resistance to frontal impacts.

When the edges are curvilinear, the mean axes of the curves form an acute angle with each other, preferably in the range 20° to 40°.

FIGS. 13 to 20 relate to implementation variants.

FIG. 13 shows variants of strips, marked 20 and 30, with their winglets 80 and 90. These strips have curvilinear longitudinal edges.

In addition, in these variants, the large winglet 90 carries two studs 140 designed to be inserted into suitable cut-outs formed on the side of the sole facing outwards (and therefore seen when walking), while the small winglet 80 carries a top claw 141 designed to grip the top of the sole.

Preferably, the strip, for example in nylon or other synthetic material having the desired qualities of resistance to abrasion and a certain flexibility, is created by moulding together with its studs and its claw.

The studs are advantageously fitted with a gripping tab (not shown) which enters with them into the holes in the sole but which can be grasped to extract the stud from the hole in the sole, in a similar manner to the connection blocks used in computer connections. Preferably, recesses are formed on the sides of the shoe in order to accommodate the claws 142.

To fit the strips, the user proceeds as indicated above for the previous implementation, except that after inserting the studs of a strip into the holes provided for this purpose in the sole on one side of the shoe, he pulls on the strip, taking advantage of the flexibility of the strip or of the sole, so as to hook the claw onto the sole on the other side of the shoe (FIGS. 14 and 15).

He then proceeds in a similar manner for the other shoe.

FIG. 15 shows two views of a flat shoe for the right foot PD fitted with a device according to the invention. It can be seen that the studs are located on the winglets on the right side of the shoe facing outwards, while the claws are visible on the left side.

It can be seen in these figures that the longitudinal edges 20 a, 20 b of the strip 20 located under the forefoot are not parallel to each other and form an acute angle with each other. These edges are also oblique in relation to the transverse axis A of the sole (FIG. 15). As a result, these edges have a curvilinear shape which reduces the incidence on the strip of frontal impacts which would tend to shift it.

The same applies to the shoe for the left foot.

The same considerations apply to the case of the bootees (FIGS. 16 to 19).

The invention is not limited to these implementation examples. 

1. An ordinary shoe fitted with a removable device to convert an ordinary shoe into a sports shoe when so required, with this device being composed of two strips (2, 3; 20, 30) designed to be placed under the forefoot and under the heel respectively, each strip being at some distance from the corresponding end of the sole, presenting two longitudinal edges (2 a, 2 b; 20 a, 20 b; 3 a, 3 b; 30 a, 30 b) which are positioned across the sole, and two lateral edges (2 c, 2 d; 3 c, 3 d; 20 c, 20 d; 30 c, 30 d) fitted with lateral winglets (8, 9; 80, 90) which fold up against the vertical sides of the sole, with these winglets and the vertical sides of the sole including resources that fit together for the detachable fixing of the strip to the shoe, characterised in that the strips (2, 3; 20, 30) are surface-mounted on the underside of the shoe, in that the two lateral edges of a given strip are not parallel and are of different widths, and in that the winglet (9, 90) adjoining the lateral edge of greater width folds up against the outward-facing side of the shoe, and is equipped with two studs (14, 140) to fit into corresponding holes in the sole, while the winglet (8, 80) adjoining the lateral edge of lesser width folds up against the inward-facing side of the shoe, and is equipped with a resource for fixing to the shoe (11, 141) so as to allow manual removal.
 2. A shoe according to claim 1, in which the said manually detachable fixing resource is a stud (11) designed to fit into a corresponding hole in the sole.
 3. A shoe according to claim 1, in which the said manually detachable fixing resource is a claw (141) located at the end of the winglet.
 4. A shoe according to claim 3, in which the shoe includes recesses (142) in or above the sole to accommodate the claws (141).
 5. A shoe according to claim 4, whose studs (11, 15, 16, 140) include manual gripping resources.
 6. A shoe according to one of claims 1 to 5, in which the longitudinal edges (2 a, 2 b; 20 a, 20 b; 3 a, 3 b; 30 a, 30 b) of a strip form an acute angle between them, of between 20° and 40°.
 7. A shoe according to one of claims 1 to 6, in which the longitudinal edges (2 a, 2 b; 3 a, 3 b) of a strip are rectilinear.
 8. A shoe according to one of claims 1 to 6, in which the longitudinal edges (20 a, 20 b; 30 a, 30 b) of a strip are curvilinear.
 9. A shoe according to either of claims 1 and 8, in which the sides (6, 7) of the sole have flats against which the winglets (8, 9) of the strips bear.
 10. A shoe according to one of claims 1 to 9, in which one of the winglets (8) and the corresponding side (6) of the sole are designed to create an attachment at a single attachment point, while the other winglet (9) and the corresponding side (7) of the sole are designed to create an attachment at two points simultaneously.
 11. A shoe according to one of claims 1 to 10, in which the said holes (20) of the sole pass obliquely through the sole and serve to ventilate the shoe.
 12. A shoe according to one of claims 1 to 6, in which hollow dowels (21) are driven into the said holes (20) in the sole, and the said studs are removable hollow pins (15) designed to be held in the said dowels, and extracted when so required.
 13. A shoe according to claim 12, in which the pins, or some of these pins (15), include a body which passes through the winglet, and a head (15 a) that is accessible outside the winglet and which allows extraction of the pin from the dowel.
 14. A shoe according to one of claims 1 to 13 in which the strips (2, 3) and their winglets (6, 7) are made of a thin metal.
 15. A shoe according to one of claims 1 to 14, whose strips (20, 30) are created by moulding in a synthetic material together with their winglets, studs and claws.
 16. A device for fitting to an ordinary shoe, with a view to use of the shoe for sports, where this device includes two strips to be fixed underneath the shoe, below the forefoot and the heel respectively, each strip being at some distance from the corresponding end of the sole, and each strip presenting two longitudinal edges, and two lateral edges fitted with two lateral winglets that fold upwards, characterised in that the two lateral edges of a given strip are not parallel and are of different widths, and in that the winglet (9, 90) adjoining the edge of the strip of greater width is equipped with two studs (14, 140) to fit into corresponding holes in the sole, while the winglet (8, 80) adjoining the lateral edge of the strip of lesser width is equipped with a manually detachable resource for attachment to the shoe (11, 141).
 17. A device according to claim 16 in which the said manually detachable fixing resource is a stud (11) for fitting into a corresponding hole in the sole.
 18. A device according to claim 16, in which the said manually detachable fixing resource is a claw (141) located to the end of the winglet.
 19. A device according to one of claims 16 to 18, whose studs (11, 15, 16, 140) include manual gripping resources.
 20. A device according to one of claims 16 to 19, in which the longitudinal edges (2 a, 2 b; 20 a, 20 b; 3 a, 3 b; 30 a, 30 b) of a strip form an acute angle between them in the range 20°-40°.
 21. A device according to one of claims 16 to 20, in which the longitudinal edges (2 a, 2 b; 3 a, 3 b) of a strip are rectilinear.
 22. A device according to one of claims 16 to 20, in which the longitudinal edges (20 a, 20 b; 30 a, 30 b) of a strip are curvilinear.
 23. A device according to one of claims 16 to 22, in which the strips (2, 3) and their winglets (6, 7) are made of a thin metal.
 24. A device according to one of claims 16 to 22, in which the strips (20, 30) are created by moulding in a synthetic material together with their winglets, studs and claws. 